Part of Your World
by nicnac918
Summary: Kal-El, heir to the House of El, has fallen in love with Lex Luthor, a human. He has a week to convince Lex to love him back, before he loses him forever.
1. Chapter 1

AN: God, I can't believe I'm doing this...

Okay, so this story is Smallville (well, mostly Smallville, with some comics canon to fill in the gaps/where it fits better) fused with... The Little Mermaid (again, mostly the Disney version, with a bit of the original Hans Christian Anderson thrown in). I think I just out-dorked myself.

And just to be clear, this is a _fusion_, not a crossover, so don't expect Ariel or Sebastian or any mermaids/sea creatures to show up at all. This also isn't The Little Mermaid with Smallville Characters. If that's the story you want, then just go watch The Little Mermaid, yeah? This is me taking the character types, plot progression, and basic themes of The Little Mermaid and applying them to the Smallville universe, adjusting both canons as needed to make them fit together. That said, I hope you enjoy.

* * *

Kal-El bounced on the balls of his feet in an unseemly show of his excitement. "Kal-El," his father, Jor-El admonished. "Stop that."

"Sorry father," Kal-El said, doing as asked, but he was unable to suppress the near luminescent grin spread across his face. Jor-El's lips pressed together just slightly in exasperation, but he didn't push it. After eighteen years of raising the boy, he was well used to his son's near inability to stifle his emotional displays. There was nothing wrong with having such feelings, of course, but was a modicum of decorum too much to ask for?

"At least these tendencies of yours should serve you well today," Jor-El observed, resigned.

"Today, when I go to Earth," Kal-El added, very nearly starting to bounce again. He tried, he really did, but he didn't understand how he was supposed to keep all this emotion inside his body.

"Today, when you go to Earth. I've never known you to be so excited about any of the other traditional rites of passage," Jor-El commented, and Kal-El's grin turned just a bit sheepish.

"My cousin Kara told me all about her trip when she turned eighteen four years ago. Earth sounds interesting." A yellow sun that infused you with power, open blue skies, wide spaces and the people, laughing and crying and yelling and free to show what they were feeling. Earth sounded like _Heaven_, especially to Kal-El, who had been barely a baby when Krypton was destroyed and could not remember anything but the cold stars and confining walls of Argo.

"It's good that you and your cousin get along," Jor-El said, and Kal-El wished there was a way to quash the persistent worry that they wouldn't from his father's heart. Truthfully, for all that Kal-El called her his cousin, Kara was more of a sister and a mother to him. Kal-El's own mother, along with both Kara's parents, had died during the destruction of Krypton, leaving Jor-El to raise the both of them. Though his father was too well mannered to ever show it, Kal-El knew he was constantly afraid that he would fail them somehow. "You can return the favor to her when you return home tonight."

Kal-El felt his lower lip stick out in a pout. "I still don't understand why I can only stay for a day. Kara got to stay for a week. Tradition has always been for a week."

"Do not say that you don't understand when the truth is you merely do not like it," Jor-El reproached. "We no longer have the stability that we enjoyed on Krypton, and the city of Argo can ill afford to be without its heir for a week."

Kal-El did know that, of course, but it still wasn't fair. He had been looking forward to this opportunity since even before Kara had gone, and now he had to try to fit all Earth's wonders into one day?

Seeing his son's upset, Jor-El sighed, and wrapped the boy up in a rare hug. Kal-El clung to the embrace greedily. He more inclined toward physical touch than the average Kryptonian, but this he kept under a tighter control than his emotional outbursts. It was one thing to embarrass himself by acting in a tasteless manner, it was another entirely to force others into situations they found unpleasant just to suit his own needs.

"Even with the powers you gain there, Earth can still be a dangerous place. I have already lost your mother and my brother," he whispered in Kal-El's ear. "I would not lose you too."

Kal-El sniffled a little, and when his father began to seem uncomfortable, he reluctantly allowed him to pull back. "Then I will leave now, so I can be sure to do as much as possible before I come back safely tonight," Kal-El said.

"Tonight, my son," Jor-El agreed, and if his eyes were a little over-bright, Kal-El was polite enough not to mention it.

* * *

Kal-El lounged on the side of a bridge and smiled to himself. It had been a thrilling day so far, and he still had hours left to go.

The transporter had dropped him off in Smallville, the same place his father had come when he had made his trip to Earth. Kal-El had first gone to the very same Kent farm where Jor-El had found sanctuary and, after some debate, had knocked on the door and introduced himself. Martha and Jonathan had exclaimed over the tidbit of family history, and insisted that Kal-El come in and have breakfast with them and their son Clark. Martha had even, Kal-El remembered with a goofy smile, hugged him when he left and told him to stop by if he ever came through town again.

After that Kal-El had gone to a local coffee shop, The Beanery. He didn't have any of the currency they used on Earth, but the waitress had told him, with a smile and a light touch to the back of his hand, that she would pay for him. People on Earth were so friendly! Kal-El had sat there for hours, fascinated just watching the humans, and when he had finally left, the waitress had waved at him and encouraged him to come back and visit, just like Martha had.

Finally, Kal-El had gone and found an open field and started running. He ran faster and faster until everything around him had frozen in place, and with a leap, he was flying. Up and around and in great loop-de-loops, laughing his exuberance out loud. For the first time ever Kal-El didn't try to hold any of his emotions back.

He could have flown all day, could have flown forever and never came back down. But he had promised not to stay longer than a day, and there was still so much to _do_ it seemed. So he had landed on this bridge to catch his breath, though he honestly felt more energized than he had when he had woken up that morning, and to figure out what he wanted to do next.

He was flitting through ideas and idly watching the river beneath him when a noise behind him caught his attention. He barely had time to register the sight of the car headed straight for him before it plowed him right off the side of the bridge and into the water.

It only took him a second to recover, and only that long due to shock. But humans, Kal-El knew, were more fragile than he was while under the yellow sun, and he hastened to save the person who had hit him. Working as quickly as he could, he ripped the top off the car and pulled the man inside of it out, and brought him up to rest on the riverbank.

Kal-El could not have bit back the gasp that escaped from him after that if he had tried. For the person laid out before him was the most beautiful man Kal-El had ever seen. Pale skin and bared head, firm lines and lean muscles, vulnerability and strength entwined together to create, to Kal-El's eyes, perfection.

And this beautiful, beautiful creature wasn't breathing.

Kal-El panicked. He leaned down and put his lips on the man's, forcing the air into his lungs. If the man couldn't find his own breath then Kal-El would share his. Sitting up, Kal-El pushed on the man's chest, willing his heart to start beating again. "Don't die, don't die, don't die," Kal-El chanted, pleaded, because he could not bear the thought of this man, someone Kal-El had never met before, ceasing to exist in the universe.

The man coughed up river water, his eyes fluttering open, and for the briefest of moments everything was completely and irrevocably _right_.

Then Kal-El remembered who he was, _what_ he was. He had done things here that no human would be able to, if they had even survived being hit in the first place. Kal-El couldn't stay, couldn't risk this man finding out that Kal-El wasn't human. He had promised his father he would stay safe.

In an instant Kal-El was up in the air, high enough above the ground that anyone with normal vision wouldn't be able to distinguish a person as anything more distinct than a dot. Watching the beautiful man on the riverbank, Kal-El fervently thanked Rao that _his_ vision had no such limitations.

* * *

When Lex woke up on the side of the river after driving off the bridge, he saw an angel. It was only for a second, and when Lex blinked, his eyes opened to the sight of no one. Struggling, Lex sat up and saw that he was well and truly alone. No angels, or mysterious rescuers, or even the boy that Lex could have sworn had been standing on the bridge.

He put his finger to his lips and, feeling a lingering borrowed warmth, wondered if he could have imagined it.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Miss Kara Zor-El totally kicked my ass on this one. I had the chapter half written languishing away on my computer, and she came in, declared it crap, and made me rewrite the whole thing, in her POV, no less. Of course, she was right, so I bear her no ill will ;).

* * *

Kara Zor-El could tell from the minute her cousin returned to Argo that something had happened to him while he was on Earth. Jor-El seemed to think that Kal-El's exuberance was merely a reflection of his over-expressive personality, but Kara could read him better than that. So she was hardly surprised when, that night after Jor-El had retired to his study, Kal-El showed up in the doorway to her room.

"Are you going to tell me what has you so excitable, Kal-El, or are you going to make me guess?" Kara asked, letting just a bit of her amusement color her tone.

"Can't I simply have had a good day?" Kal-El said, teasing. "I have been looking forward to this trip for a while now."

"Not when you are smiling as bright as Rao himself, you can't," Kara retorted, causing Kal-El to laugh in delight. Such as sweet sound, as sweet as her cousin himself, and it always grieved Kara to think that their people did not approve, could not understand. She did not understand it herself, in all honesty, but there was no harm in it, and so no call to judge Kal-El for the way he let his emotions shine from his face.

"Right as always cousin," Kal-El said. Then he took in a deep breath and, as happy as she had ever seen him, announced, "I have fallen in love."

Kara's heart sunk like a stone. "With a human?" she said, her neutral tone not betraying any of the sorrow growing in her.

"Of course, who else would it be?" Kal-El said. "I haven't had a chance to see anyone else today except you or father, and I certainly have not fallen for either of you." He wrinkled his nose at the thought.

"Kal-El. Here, come sit down," Kara said, indicating the floor at her feet.

Kal-El looked at her, confusion writ plain across his face. "Kara? Is something wrong?"

"Sit," Kara commanded, ignoring his question, and despite his clearly mounting worry, Kal-El complied without further hesitation. Once sitting, Kal-El settled his head back against Kara's legs and she began carding her fingers through his hair. One of the consequences of Kal-El's increased desire for contact was that physical affection had a great deal of power to comfort him. With some experimenting over the years, the two of them had found that combing Kal-El's hair with her fingers helped calm her cousin significantly, without pushing Kara too far beyond her own comfort levels with the intimacy of it. When Kara could fell Kal-El beginning to relax, she spoke again. "You know Jor-El will never allow this."

"Why shouldn't he?" Kal-El said, his brow marred in confusion. "Father was in love with a human himself before. He even told me that he would have married her, had she not died."

"Yes, but Jor-El was on Earth for the full week when he made that decision," Kara pointed out. "A day is a very short time to know someone and decide that it is love."

"But it is love! I know my own feelings," Kal-El said, pouting a little.

"As you say, cousin," Kara replied mildly enough, though in truth she had her doubts; Kal-El was so enthusiastic about his emotions, it was not hard to think that he might have mistaken mere attraction for love. "I am not trying to argue with you, I am only pointing out what my uncle is likely to say if you told him of this. And even if Jor-El should approve of your union, you must know there are still other concerns that would keep you apart from your lady-love."

"_He_ is not a lady," Kal-El said, looking up at her in fierce defiance, daring Kara challenge it. She ruffled his curls and let it be. Had Kal-El professed his love for a _Kryptonian_ youth, she might have cause to object, but as it was, the fact the he was human superseded concerns about gender.

"Either way, a human cannot bear you children," Kara told him. "Which for Jor-El, one of the children of the respected, but not particularly powerful, House of El, was not an issue, but for you Kal-El, only son of your house and sole heir to the ruler of the remaining Kryptonians, cannot be allowed. You have your duty to consider."

"We could adopt a child," Kal-El suggested "Blood is not the only determiner of worth." Kara looked at him skeptically, and Kal-El flushed under her gaze. Blood may not be the only determiner, but not even Kal-El was as naïve to think it could be cast aside so easily in time such as these.

"And even if our people could accept that," Kara continued, "do you truly believe that they would accept _him_. Space and resources are already far scarcer now than they were on Krypton, and you wish to bring an outsider to share what little we have? And do you truly wish to rip your love away from his home and family to consign him to life on this small island floating in space where all save our family reviles him?"

Kal-El paled, seeming to quail at the thought, which lead Kara to hope that he might be beginning to see the futility of his desires. But then his features took on their determined cast once again, and Kara cursed thrice over the stubbornness of the House of El. "If he cannot come here, then I shall go to Earth to be with him," Kal-El declared.

"No!" Kara cried out, startling Kal-El with its sharpness. And it was completely lacking in decorum, but Kara could not help herself; Kal-El had stumbled across a fear she had had ever since if had become clear that her cousin didn't belong with them, not truly. She had already lost her mother and father and aunt and so many others, she would not lose Kal-El too. "Need I remind you again of your duty? We Kryptonians are barely hanging on hanging on in this world by the barest thread, a thread that could be broken in an instant. Jor-El may be a great leader, but he will not be here forever, and then we shall all turn to you for guidance Kal-El. Would you abandon your people so easily, would you abandon _us_?"

Kal-El looked up at her, tears shining in his eyes. "But I love him," he said, so small, so broken. Kal-El, who was such a good, good child, only wishing the best for the universe and everyone in it, was, for perhaps the first time, asking for something selfish, for only his own happiness. And Kara would have to tell him no.

"Please believe dear cousin, I would that I could find a way for the two of you to be together. But I _cannot_ and it _is not_ to be. So instead I must ask… that you forget that you had ever met this human," she said, hating herself for every syllable she forced past her lips. Kal-El held himself in for a few seconds longer before he heaved a great gasping noise and flung himself at her, burying his sobs into her stomach. Kara, feeling pinpricks in her own eyes, closed them, and just let Kal-El cling to her as he cried out his heartbreak.

Neither of them saw the smirking figure standing in the hallway's shadows.


	3. Chapter 3

Kal-El sat morosely in Argo's only small park, the sole concession of space that the Kryptonians had been willing to make for their love of the stark beauty of their home world. This late in the day Kal-El was the only one there; most everyone else was tucked safely in their homes, but Kal-E couldn't bring himself to return yet. Over the past two days his father had been asking increasingly probing questions, attempting to uncover why Kal-El had suddenly dropped from the heights of joy to the depths of despair, but, as much as a part of him wished for his father's comfort, Kal-El could not quite bring himself to confess the truth yet. For, though in truth Kal-El knew that his father would insist that Kal-El follow the course of his duty the same as Kara had, as long as Jor-El did not know of Kal-El's desires, Kal-El could harbor the fantasy that when his father did find out, he would urge Kal-El to follow the wishes of his heart over the call of his responsibilities.

It was while Kal-El was engrossed deep in one of these imaginings that a voice broke through the still of the night. "Good evening, Kal-El."

"Zod," Kal-El said, starting in surprise. "I did not expect to see anyone out here so late."

"I am often wont to come out here in the evenings, my own private memorial for what we have lost. Though I might ask what you are doing out here, and looking so melancholy," said Zod.

Kal-El stiffened slightly and attempted to school his expression into something more neutral. "I hadn't realized I was being so emotional. I apologize for any discomfort I may have caused you," Kal-El said, standing. "I will take my leave now."

"No, Kal-El, it is I who must apologize," Zod insisted, holding his hand up to forestall Kal-El's exit. "You were not acting inappropriately; I was only able to tell because two nights ago I had come over to talk with Jor-El and I overheard you and Kara talking."

Kal-El flushed red with embarrassment. "Oh. Well, you need not worry, I have no intention of abandoning my duty to the Kryptonian people," he said, projecting as much confidence and authority into his tone as possible. His heart might be breaking, but that did not make Kara any less right.

"I never thought that you would," Zod assured him. "However, I cannot help but think a leader who does not feel whole is not as effective as he could be." Kal-El felt his eyes widen in surprise. That was exactly how he felt, as though he had found a piece of himself he had never even known was missing, only to have it ripped beyond his grasp, leaving him with a gaping wound that would never be filled.

"Do not look so surprised," Zod said in response to Kal-El's obvious reaction. "Before the death of Krypton I had a wife and son, but both of them died in the destruction of Kandor. So I too know what it is like to lose the one who is dearer to you than life itself." Zod's eyes had a soft reminiscent look about them, with some sorrow buried deep within as well, and broken though it was, Kal-El's heart went out to the man.

"I am sorry for your loss," Kal-El said, resisting the urge to place a comforting hand on Zod's arm; it would only be rude and unappreciated. "But you have Faora now" – though there was nothing officially recognized between the two of them yet, the affection they shared was readily apparent – "so perhaps there is hope that I may find someone else." Surely if both his father and Zod were able to find love again, Kal-El would be able to as well eventually. Even if he was convinced there was no one else in the universe that could be as perfect and that he could feel as strong an initial connection to as the man he had saved – Lex.

"Perhaps," Zod agreed, "but I was very lucky to find Faora; luckier than most. And even with her, I am still left with the void from the death of my Ursa."

"Oh," Kal-El said, heart sinking.

"Do not fret, I did not bring it up to further your sorrow Kal-El," said Zod. "In fact, I believe I can help you with your problem."

"How?" Kal-El asked, hardly daring to believe such a thing was possible. Certainly he had gone over in his head enough times and had still failed to find a solution.

"While I am certain Kara Zor-El had the best of intentions in discouraging you from asking him to come to Argo, everyone has the right to decide what sacrifices they are willing to make for love. You cannot leave behind your duties to join him on Earth, but the same might not be said for the _human_ you've fallen for." Kal-El thought he heard the slightest sneer of distaste when Zod said the word human, but there was no evidence of it in his expression, and Kal-El dismissed the notion. His own over-expressiveness meant that sometime Kal-El had a hard time reading other's more subtle displays of emotion.

"My cousin also pointed out he and I would be unable to have children together," Kal-El said, uncertain of how much Zod had overheard.

"But your cousin will," Zod argued. "And her children will be members of the House of El by blood, if not in name. One of them could easily serve as you successor."

"I do not even know if he loves me," Kal-El said in a small voice. He was unwilling to admit that, though from the time he had first become aware of Lex until the promise to his father had called him home, Kal-El had allowed his senses to drink in everything about the other man, trying in vain to get his fill, Lex himself had not spoken a single word to him, nor had he ever seen Kal-El, save for perhaps a glimpse or two.

"All the more reason for you to do as I suggest," insisted Zod. "I will help you sneak down to Earth and give you a week to ascertain whether or not this human shares your feelings. If he does then you may bring him back with you – Jor-El has such a soft heart, I doubt upon seeing your happiness together he will tell you no – or if he doesn't then you can return to Argo, no one the wiser."

Kal-El frowned in confusion. "I do not see how it is possible that no one will notice I am missing if I am gone a week," Kal-El said.

"They will not notice if there is an exact duplicate of you in your place," Zod told him.

"A clone? But you cannot-" The morality of cloning was already questionable, but to make a copy of Kal-El while he was still alive…

"No, not a clone," Zod assured him. "It is a crystalline golem, created to look just like you and have all your memories, but it is not really alive. I have created them to do whatever they are told to, so you merely need to command it to take your place while you're gone and then replace it when you come back."

That sounded like it was the perfect solution, but Kal-El could not help but be a little suspicious. "Why would you help me with this?" he asked. His father had told him on a few occasions before that Zod, although a close friend of his, would rarely do anything unless it further his own ends.

The corners of Zod's lips upturned slightly. "I see your father has warned you about me," he said. "Very well then, I suppose I should confess that I have my own motives for wanting to help. I am hoping to use this as an opportunity as a test of the golem's effectiveness."

Again, Kal-El was suspicious, feeling as though Zod were not sharing the whole truth, but even as he turned it over in his head, Kal-El could find no real reason to object to what Zod had told him. Kal-El took a great breath in – it was a big risk he was taking, even if it was not possible for him to _not_ take it now that it had been set before him. "Alright, Zod. I will accept your offer of help."

"Excellent," Zod said. He grinned, and Kal-El had to assume that it was only due the rarity of such a sight that it seemed far too full of teeth. He _had_ to.

"Before I forget," Zod continued, reaching into his pocket, "you will need this." He gave Kal-El a rounded blue pendant which almost seemed to glow as Kal-El took it in his hand.

"What is it?" asked Kal-El, holding the necklace up before his face in order to inspect it.

"That stone is a piece of Krypton, but it has been irradiated so that it will cancel out the effects the yellow sun has on your physiology," Zod said.

"Oh," said Kal-El, flushing in embarrassment at having forgotten. After all, it had been at his own father's suggestion that the sensors for detecting super-powered Kryptonians had been put on Earth, fearful that some would be tempted to use their powers to subjugate the humans. "I shall be certain not to take it off."

"See that you do. Now, it will take me a little time to prepare everything," said Zod. "Meet me here in two weeks' time and I will be ready for you."

Kal-El nodded in agreement. "And thank you for everything, Zod."

"Oh, Kal-El, believe me, the pleasure is mine."


	4. Chapter 4

AN: The astute reader might notice a bit of a difference in Kal's speech patterns in this chapter as opposed to previous ones. That's because when Kal-El is on Argo speaking to Kryptonians he is, of course, speaking in Kryptonian, but on Earth Kal speaks English. The formal vs. casual speech patterns are just a reflection of this.

* * *

Two and a half weeks was far too long to spend looking for someone, especially in a town as small as, well, Smallville. Admittedly, Lex was a bit more used to hiring professionals to do his finding for him, but given that his best description was "a dark-haired, green-eyed invulnerable – or tough enough to survive getting hit by a car going at sixty miles an hour at any rate – angel capable of either disappearing or moving at incredibly fast speeds and with a penchant for saving drowning billionaires," it seemed prudent to handle this one himself.

Lex sighed to himself and parked his car in front of The Beanery. The best that could be said for the place was that he hadn't yet heard of anyone contracting food poisoning from eating there, but if Lex wanted to make nice with the locals, and he did, both because his life would be a lot easier if nearly everyone in town didn't instinctively scowl when they saw him and it was the best chance he had of finding the person who saved him, then he had to be seen frequenting the local businesses. So, pulling off his driving gloves, Lex walked inside and prepared himself for some of their nearly undrinkable sludge that paraded itself as coffee.

And froze. There, right in the middle of the room, eating a muffin and sipping at a mug of coffee, sat the man Lex was looking for. True, Lex had only gotten two brief glimpses of him before, the first time when Lex's car had been barreling down on him and again when Lex had woken up on the riverbank, but Lex was sure it was him. There could be no other explanation for the sudden pull that had lodged itself in Lex's chest and was drawing him over to where the man sat. Appearing to sense Lex's presence, the man looked up and – God, the look on his face. Smile so bright and eyes lit up like he had been waiting here just for Lex.

"Lex Luthor," he said, having discarded the opening line of 'so we meet again' as too cliché. He offered his hand to shake, having again discarded his first impulse – to reenact the riverside mouth-to-mouth that he vaguely recalled – this time for being too forward.

The man's hand was warm and solid against Lex's own, and his grip firm, but not so excessively strong that it seemed like he thought he had some point to prove by it. "Kal El," he said, with a strange overemphasize on the space between the words.

Lex's next words died in his mouth when he saw the bandage on Kal's arm. "What happened?" Because if Kal escaped from being run over by Lex's Porsche apparently unscathed, then Lex shuddered to think of what could actually damage him.

"I, ah… well I didn't realize the coffee was so hot," Kal stammered.

Lex felt the presence of destiny drop out from beneath him. Kal _wasn't_ the man who had saved him; he couldn't be if he was being burned by _coffee,_ and any sense of inevitably and connection Lex had felt had just been him letting his own sense of drama get away with him. He should leave, now, before he made a bigger fool of himself.

Kal seemed to sense the change in Lex, and in turn he became more hesitant. "Would you care to join me?" he asked, flushing slightly and gesturing at the empty seat across from him.

So, obviously not _too_ hesitant then.

"I think will," Lex said, sitting down, without having been aware of having any intention of doing so. Oh well, it's not as if it could really _hurt _to stay a little while longer; most of the townsfolk had a fairly low opinion of him anyway, and considering how remarkably like the man who saved him Kal looked, maybe Kal could help Lex find him.

"Are you from Smallville? I don't think I've seen you around before," Lex said lightly. Even a little flirty, but then Kal was very attractive, and a little flirting never hurt either. Aside from the occasional stalker it attracted, but Kal didn't seem like the stalker type – not that they ever really did – and besides, his security people needed something to keep them busy while Lex was stranded out in the ass-end of the middle of fucking nowhere anyway.

Kal's eyes seemed to dim a bit, and Lex really hoped that Kal wasn't one of those good God-fearing, Kansas-farming homophobes. "No, I guess you wouldn't have." Then he, quite literally, shook off whatever thoughts had been bringing his mood down, and said in a mock-whisper, eyes twinkling, "I'm not really from around here."

"I'm afraid I missed the punch line," Lex replied.

"It's kind of an inside joke," Kal explained. "I'll tell you about it sometime." That was pretty presumptuous of Kal, assuming that Lex was going to keep him around that long. Lex liked it, a lot.

"You do that," Lex said. "So if you aren't from Smallville, then what brings you here?"

Kal bit his lip thoughtfully and Lex really, _really_ hoped that Kal wasn't a homophobe. "I guess you could say it was a family thing?"

"Family thing, like you're here with your family, on behalf of them, or in spite of them?" Lex asked. Because in the case of the latter, Lex would be more than willing to hand out some tips.

"In spite of, I guess?" Kal said. "It's like, my father and my cousin have certain things they expect me to do with my life. And it's not what I would have chosen, but I understand why they expect it of me, and I'm okay with it; I get why it's necessary. But that doesn't mean that they _always_ know what's best for me. So I'm kind of… running away for a week to prove that I know what makes me happy too."

"And so you decided to come to _Smallville_?" Lex said, disbelievingly. That wasn't exactly what Lex would qualify as rebellion.

"Smallville has certain attractions," said Kal, looking straight at Lex.

"If you say so," Lex drawled. "I've been here about two and a half weeks, and I haven't found anything of interest." Nothing save a mysterious dark-haired savior by the riverbanks and a green-eyed man in a coffee shop, that was. "So where are you staying during your wild and crazy week away?"

Kal blushed. "I, uh… I don't know. I was so caught up with the idea of getting here, I forgot to make any plans for what I'd do once I arrived."

"Worst case scenario, I suppose you could sleep in your car," said Lex. People did that, right?

"I don't have I car. I got here… on the bus," Kal said.

Lex closed his eyes for a second. "So let me make sure I understand this, you wanted to run away from home for a little while to prove a point, so you came to _Smallville_ with no car, no luggage" – Lex quickly glanced under the table to confirm that Kal didn't have any bags by his feet – "no place to stay, and no idea of what to do when you got here." Kal made a vague noise of protest at the last one, so Lex amended it to "only a vague idea of what you want to do." Lex had spent too many years with no plan besides 'piss off Dad' to completely dismiss the validity of Kal's goal out of hand.

"When you put it like that… I'm hopeless aren't I?" Kal said, ducking his head and flushing.

"I don't know about hopeless, but I've never seen one of our customers burn themselves like that on their coffee." Lex looked up startled – distressingly so, because when was the last time he had been that unaware of his surroundings – to see they had been approached by one of the waitresses. She placed a slightly too friendly hand on Kal's shoulder and gave him a perky smile. It matched her perky attitude and her perky ponytail and her perky breasts and her perky... perkiness. Lex didn't like her.

"I wasn't expecting it to be so hot," Kal protested, all wide eyes and innocence.

The waitress laughed delightedly. "Coffee usually is, Kal. How's your arm, feeling any better?"

"I don't heal that fast," Kal said with a little frown, as if he thought his body was failing him somehow by not healing preternaturally fast. "But thank you for asking and helping with the bandages." There was that big sunny grin again, and Lex was seriously considering buying The Beanery, just so he could fire this girl.

"I'm going to go," Lex said, standing abruptly. Lex would leave Kal here to flirt with his perky waitress and Lex would go find his savior. Everybody wins, even if it didn't feel much like winning to Lex right now.

"You're leaving already?" Kal asked, distress ringing in every syllable and big green eyes fixed solely on Lex.

"I'm afraid so," Lex said to a pair of large pleading eyes and a slightly pouted lower lip – God dammit! "I was thinking though, if you need a place to stay for the week, I have plenty of room up at the castle."

"Really? I can stay with you?" Kal asked, his eyes gone even wider, which Lex wouldn't have even thought possible, and his grin looked like every single birthday and Christmas he'd ever had had all come at once.

"I wouldn't have offered if I didn't mean it," Lex said casually and probably not entirely truthfully, given the way a part of his brain was rapidly trying to figure out what had gotten into him to make him invite a total stranger to come live with him, even if it was only for a week.

"That's really nice of you, Mr. Luthor, isn't it Kal?" the waitress said, touching Kal's arm again in an effort to regain his attention. Right, that was what had gotten into him.

"Amazing," Kal agreed, not glancing back at her even once. Lex felt unaccountably smug.

"I'm heading back there now, I could give you a ride," Lex offered, fairly certain that Kal would take it.

Not one to disappoint, Kal jumped out of his seat with all the grace and enthusiasm of an overgrown puppy. "That would be great! Thank you!"

Lex, being a mature twenty-one year old adult, did not smirk back at the waitress as he left the Beanery, Kal in tow.

Well, not _much_ anyway.


	5. Chapter 5

The next day dawned bright and clear, almost as though the sky itself was seeking to reflect Kal-El's mood. The day before had been the best that Kal-El could ever remember having. He had been sitting in the coffee shop, trying to figure out how he was to find Lex and, once found, how he was to go about convincing Lex that the two of them belonged together, when Lex had come in and walked right up to Kal-El. Kal-El had even thought for a second that Lex had been able to sense the air between them, a suspicion that proved false, but Lex still appeared to like him anyway. Then Lex had invited Kal-El to stay at _his_ _house_, and surely there could be no better place for Kal-El to be if he wanted to win Lex over.

Definitely Kal's best day ever. And today promised to be even better.

Having been stuffed full of food by a smiling cook – apparently comparing someone's food to Martha Kent's apple pie was among the highest of compliments in Smallville – Kal bounded up the stairs to the office where Cook said Lex was working "on the weekend and while he has a guest over, no less." The last was said with a disappointed shake of her head, from which Kal surmised that it would be okay to go interrupt him.

When Kal reached Lex's office, Lex was on the phone, but he saw Kal and made a motion with his hands that either meant come in or was incredibly rude – Kal couldn't remember which – and smiled at him. So Kal walked on in, taking care to be very quiet since he wasn't sure how sensitive telephones were. While he was waiting for Lex to finish his conversation, Kal began making a closer inspection of the room that Lex had only shown his briefly the day before on the tour of the castle. Regretfully, Kal bypassed the bookshelves; he enjoyed reading, but while his spoken English was proficient, his reading and writing skills in it were rudimentary at best. He stopped by the piece of furniture that he believed Lex had referred to as a "pool table" long enough to confirm that there really wasn't any water, so it must be a different type of pool. From there he wandered over to the shelves to look at the various items housed there. He was just running a careful finger along the sheath of a dagger when Lex said, "Now that's a piece with an interesting story."

Kal started and flushed a little. He had not heard Lex hang up the phone, or come up behind him. "What's that?"

Lex reached over to pick up the knife, his hands brushing up against Kal's. He unsheathed it to reveal, not a metal blade, but one made of a green crystalline stone. It reminded Kal of something, but he couldn't think of what. "Did you know that there was a meteor shower here in Smallville?" he asked, and Kal shook his head. "That's not surprising; it was relatively small, only about a dozen or so rocks and the largest was no bigger than a basketball. Not to mention it happened twelve years ago, so you would have only been, what, seven or eight?"

"Six actually," Kal said, after making a few quick conversions from Kryptonian years to Earth years in his head.

Lex considered that for a second, before nodding in acceptance and continuing. "I was there when it happened; one of them almost landed on my head, and I was in the hospital for a couple of months afterwards recovering. And even then you could say that I never recovered completely," Lex said brushing a hand over the side of his completely hairless head. With an effort of will Kal managed to not do the same. "That happened when I was nine. For my tenth birthday my father gave me this blade made from the same meteor that nearly killed me. My weakness turned into a weapon, and it was up to me to decide if it would be one I used, or one used against me."

Kal crinkled his nose. "Your father's not very subtle, is he?"

Lex let out a startled laugh. Kal had had a few chances to hear the sound yesterday and he grew to like it more with each opportunity. "He can actually be very subtle when he needs to be," Lex told him, "but I'll grant you that it's not his preferred style."

Kal nodded thoughtfully before looking back at the knife. "What kind of stone is it?" Kal asked, trying to think of what it reminded him of.

"Aside from the obvious answer, the truth is we aren't really sure what it's made of. My father collected most of it after the shower, hoping to find some uses for it. Unfortunately, despite some interesting properties, it doesn't react consistently enough to be used for anything besides slightly unusual luxury items," Lex said.

"Interesting properties?" Kal prompted.

Lex held the knife up to the light. "See the bright green color and the translucence of the blade? That's because the material has a crystalline structure. But surprisingly this blade was _not_ cut and polished down from a larger stone like you would normally expect from a crystal, but actually melted, refined and then forged like one might do with a metal; the substance actually has a relatively low melting point. Additionally, it gives off some low-level radiation; not enough to be dangerous with limited exposure like this, but the sheath is lead-lined just to be safe." With that Lex sheathed the knife again and set it back on its stand.

It was the mention of radiation that tipped Kal off. The crystal blade, despite being green rather than blue, looked just like the pendant Zod had given him, and the description matched that of many of the rocks from Krypton. It was possible, Kal supposed, that some of the pieces of their exploding planet might have been irradiated during their journey through space, and fallen through a wormhole to have reached Earth in under six years. But to think that a piece of Kal's home world had traveled across the infinite cosmos to make its way here and mark Lex – it _had_ to be destiny.

Kal grinned at Lex, wider than he ever had grinned before, he was certain. He heard Lex's breath hitch, just the smallest bit, and Kal's grin grew even more.

"So what are you planning today?" Lex asked, his voice so smooth and casual that if Kal weren't used to the affected neutrality of the other Kryptonians, then he probably wouldn't have noticed the abrupt subject change.

"I don't know," Kal replied honestly, only to have Lex look at him in askance. "Only a vague idea, remember?" Essentially, his plan was to find out how Lex was going to spend his day each day, and then do whatever he need to in order to stay with him, whether that meant flying halfway around the world or struggling through a book while Lex worked at his desk. Kal was certain that if the two of them just spent enough time together, Lex would have to come to feel the same way Kal already did.

"Ah yes, how could I forget?" said Lex, amused. "Speaking of, how do the clothes fit?" He looked Kal up and down, as though examining the fit of the clothes for himself.

"Very well" – and very tight, especially compared to the loose flowing clothing on Argo, but since they weren't painful and there weren't any seams popping Kal had to assume that was how they were supposed to be – "thank you for getting them for me."

"It's not a problem," Lex said dismissively. "In the past my father has accused me of spending the GDP of a small country on clothing every year, which is very pot and kettle of him I might add, so outfitting you for a week isn't a really hardship."

"Still, thank you," Kal insisted, smiling at Lex again.

A small smile curled the edges of Lex's lips in return and Kal's heart soared to see it. "You're welcome. As far as today goes, I usually like to make an appearance at the weekly Farmer's Market held in town since it's probably the only thing Smallville has in the way of a social event, aside from the high school football games, and there's nothing that could get e to go to one of those. It would be a good opportunity for you to get a feel for the town and figure out what you want to do with yourself all week, if you wanted to come with me that is," Lex said, his voice fading off into hesitancy at the very end, as if there were any doubts that where Lex was was exactly where Kal wanted to be.

Kal couldn't help but bounce on the balls of his feet in excitement. "That sounds perfect."

Today really _was_ going to be better than yesterday.


End file.
